I'd like to take a 4 door xj, strip out the back seats, and use the entire rear cargo and seating area to store tools, an air tank, power converter, etc in an effort to make a halfway decent purpose built recovery vehicle that I could also use as a mobile mechanic setup.
I'm pretty sold on the XJ being an awesome platform, but it would be my first Jeep and really my first 'MURCIAN vehicle at all.
I'm sure somebody has done something like this before, or at least converted the whole thing to storage. I know plenty of these were used for fleet service and mail and the like so if anybody has any experience or pictures of an actual working XJ that'd be super!
Also...I guess, forums? I found /r/CherokeeXJ (thanks to a user there for this photo). /o/ pointed me towards Turbobricks way back in the day, and for Volvos there was no better place I could have landed.
yeah they are great. you can turn the ac into an air compressor and have on board air for air tools. they can hold a lot and you can make them very capable.
I have a 91 Cherokee with almost 300k miles on it.
It's a total shitbox, but it refuses to quit
>>14701341
The piece of shit pulled this 1.5 tonnes
Smelled hot as fucked when I got home, but it didn't overheat
>>14701341
>98 cherokee
Got it almost a year ago with 135k
>>14701126
Great vehicle, we had one. It ran perfect (although it suffered the usual electrical gremlins) up to 267xxxkm. It was written off after my mom t-boned an Aston Martin
A van conversion shouldn't be a problem.
It will likely need stiffer springs at the rear if, and will benefit greatly from ply lining the floor and sides of the cargo area.
I'm pretty sure I've seen XJ commercials before.
Plenty of 4x4 in Europe come with no back seats and panels instead of back windows just for tax purposes.
Most are used by tradesman like painters, tile layers, plumbers and decorators who don't carry big shit and don't need sliding doors or high roof, but still need a cargo area and a long roof.
As opposed to Series and Defender Land Rover commercials that are used by tradesmen who need the bigger cargo space.
A doorway pallet and 8x4 ply sheets won't fit in an XJ but I doubt that matters to you.
>>14701341
>>14701352
>WJ with 250k on the clock
>everytime tow something heavy burning smell
>constantly debate whether to rebuild everything or wait for it to die
>>14701352
Mine did pretty well towing this Prelude. No burning smell that I can remember
>>14701315
Yeah I've heard about that before, I know a/c pressures can get high as hell so I figure it should work. More than happy to sacrifice a/c and not have to have a compressor in the back. I'll probably be using cordless impacts instead of the air guns but you still need air for plenty of other things.
>>14701352
>>14703505
I do want to be able to tow a Volvo 240 behind it, I think with a light trailer it would be...okay if not ideal. I'll probably have access to a bigger truck should I need it but that's my towing concern.
>>14702442
I don't know if i'd panel the windows or anything but I'd like to do as large a flat surface as I could, maybe with some sort of rail system on the sides for anchoring boxes. Between that and all the vertical space I'll have I should be able to fit all the kit I'm gonna have for a while in there.
>>14701126
Buy a service body truck like everyone else and call it a day. Not worth the hassle.
>>14701126
I got a 99 w/ ~250k miles
They don't really have a lot of space even with the back seat down, I would recommend a cheap panel van like an Astro or if you could find an old Caravan C/V
>>14701126
You know they make utilitarian vehicles for this very thing, they are called pick up trucks. You can even put flat beds on them! That's right! And you won't have to modify a thing! It's like they were made for work and job sites! They even make enclosed versions called vans.
Your mom should have swallowed you.
>>14706368
Just get a good trans cooler and make sure your cooling system is in good shape. Maybe a trans temp gauge. Trailer brakes would help a lot too. That was my biggest concern when highway towing without a brake controller
Okay yall you definitely have a point... but I want to go offroading with it. I know you can get 4x4 pickup trucks, even enclosed ones...but I just like the body style a lot and I'm more than willing to put in an economically unjustified number of hours into having a cool work truck.
I want something smaller though, shit before this I was planning on packing all my things into a volvo wagon, maybe lifting it even. The XJ looks like a station wagon so it's close enough for me and obviously the 4x4 factor means I can actually go places (not to knock the few guys I've seen rocking offroading volvo builds)
>>14706535
I realize that I'm basically saying "la la lah I can't hear you" to your reasonable and practical advice and while I appreciate it I just want to talk about how I would do what I'm thinking of doing.
>>14706545
If it makes you feel any better, I think the people telling you to just get something else are way off base, and probably not auto enthusiasts. They're all "bought not built" types of faggots.
I like your idea, and would even be interested to follow a build thread.
cherokeeforum.com is probably one of the best sources of information. Along with NAXJA, and jeepforum.
>>14706535
>too poor for a work truck and an off road toy
Pleb
>>14706535
Astro/Safari has 4wd
>>14706600
I do think the astro is a cool van...
>>14706572
If I end up doing this, I'll definitely have to document it well and post it up. It'll have to be work I'm proud of, and I think I could use the pressure ya know? Part of the reason I'd like to use a Cherokee is that it's kind of a beloved car to a lot of people, and there are a ton of them around where I live.
Thanks for the forums!
>>14706646
You could either find one with the cabinets still in it, or buy a pedestrian one with 4wd and swap it to the work truck or just by the pedestrian model with 4wd and just gut the interior
>>14706572
Hey that is a quality forum right there
>>14701126
I have always wanted to buy one of these in 2WD, make it handle well, swap in a reasonably sporting yet engine (like a turbocharged BMW M50) and make people say "why."
Am I retarded?
>>14706600
>Astro/Safari has 4wd
its AWD though.
>>14706772
Nah, man. I want to do this to an old japtruck. Would be so fun desu.
>>14706781
Close enough, it's the same system from the syclone/typhoon
>>14706772
>reasonably sporting yet engine
*yet not too expensive
Maybe I am retarded.
>>14706772
http://blog.caranddriver.com/petty-cash-the-greatest-road-racing-jeep-cherokee-in-lemons-history/
Calling all Jeep Fags. What is the most reliable generation of Jeep Wrangler? I fucking love Wranglers but I'm worried about reliability. My only other options are Tacoma or 4Runner
>>14706646
>Thanks for the forums!
No problem. I've been diving in head first for the last few months myself. Picked up my first XJ right before christmas, so far I've just been doing maintenance, and trimming the fenders in preparation for bigger tires. Mine is pretty much just going to be an offroad project, but for long hauls in the wilderness. Pic of when I first picked her up.
>>14706694
I don't know if this is a genuine compliment or not. But thanks?
>>14706934
Also, brush guard is gone, hated it after about a week. And painted the wheels.
>>14706934
Oh I was being genuine! I found this guy's (http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f58/expedition-rig-build-out-175034/index8/) build thread and it's all about storage in the rear area and there's other people also posting their solutions...good food for thought!
What year is yours? I've seen that 97 is a "golden year" and it's after some frame and engine improvements so I guess anything from around then and forward is good but I dunno.
There's a smaller earlier body style isn't there?
>>14707070
Mine is a 2000. There was a pretty big update in 97 that carried on through til the XJ's end in 01. So I'd say that anything 97 and up is the best way to go. I don't think there was ever a significant size difference. The predecessor to the XJ was the Wagoneer, but it was a full size body on frame SUV.
And yeah, it's already been a great source of info every time I get to wanting to do something.
This is probably the most helpful thread for offroad info, as far as upgrading goes. That is if you're going on a budget, instead of just buying rough country or something.
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/budget-builds-what-junkyard-parts-will-fit-cherokee-58797/
>>14707070
95 and 99 are the true 'golden years'
No, there was never a smaller xj cherokee.
There were 2-door xj's, but they were identical inside apart from the front seats, longer front doors, and lack of rear doors
